Labour explains latest recycling policy document

Labour has spoken of its latest Resource Security Policy Review, which dictates – among other things – where the party would stand on recycling if it was successful in the 2015 General Election.

Published last week, the eight-page document has been lambasted by some as being too light and not containing enough hard facts or evidence, recycle.org.uk reports. Labour’s Gavin Shuker, who holds the party’s waste and water briefs, however, has defended the Review and labelled it a “stepping stone” to a much more productive future. He added that it also provides a baseline for further consultation work over the coming 18 months.

Shuker explained how, where recycling was concerned, his party aimed to promote it as a profit-making venture to win hearts and minds, before the harder task of setting out goals and targets is undertaken.

Despite this, one target has already been created, that of raising municipal recycling targets in England to 70 per cent by 2025, which could bring with it a rise not only in the number of recycling bins provided but also the regularity of collection.

Responding to the criticism of Labour’s document, Shuker told mrw.co.uk: “This isn’t an empty document. For example, it is not a document saying ‘let’s add a couple of quid on the landfill tax escalator and let the market sort it out for itself.’ We are looking right across government and asking what we can do.”